Reader Comments

no way dude. PDAs are the biggest hype-oriented product of the millennium.

every single person i know –whether teacher, programmer, designer, project manager, director, senior staff, student, etc– who has a PDA end up going back to pen and paper after a few months. why? because PDAs are toys. after the novelty runs out, there’s no real need for them.

sure it’s great for synching with your notes and schedule, but how many of us are going to spend a lot of time making schedule reminders and notes? not many. and how many of us will actually use the device to input information? no one… why? compared to pen and paper, the input methods for PDAs suck.

Oh, I know all too well. I have a dusty Palm III and an even older Windows CE 1.0 handheld that gather dust. WiFi might just be the saving grace, but other than that the intrinsic value is pretty limited.

I have to admit though, I really am morbidly fascinated by the Fossil watch. Palm OS 4.1 on my wrist might actually prove useful… then again it might be a waste of $200US. Hard to say… hard to say.

Exactly Haze. The biggest problems remain battery life, and limited input. The new laser projection keyboards and wi-fi will hopefully address some of the short comings, but frankly it’s going to take another 2-3 years before I’ll buy another one.

Is it so much to ask for a pda as thin as a credit card, as tactile as a piece of paper, and so durable and flexible I can roll it up? Er… well one can dream.

one major problem with PDAs (and this is a more socio-psychological view) is that it’s too small. the smaller it becomes, the better it is to carry; but consequently, the worse it becomes to read or type. most ppl, like me, are idiots. when we write, our attention span lasts for maybe half a second and then it’s gone. imagine typing an email where u could only see the last word youve typed. can you remember the last paragraph you just wrote? how about the last sentence?

paper doesnt have this problem, neither do laptops. so inputting information into a PDA is horrible, but reading is alright. wireless, laser keyboards arent going to help because there’s no tactile feel. as well, u have to situate the pda like a laptop in order to input information… why not just get a laptop then? it sounds cool, but business ppl dont want flash, they want function ;0)

PDAs are too small to do big things, and too big to do small things. IMHO, i see compaq’s computer tablet (frikken touchpanel the size of an LCD) maybe breaking ground. sure, it’s $2000CAD, but business geeks who can afford it should love it. (btw, my opinions on PDAs relate to business or school use… ppl carrying around PDAs to movie theatres or restaurants be damned for all i care)